Sore on back of hen

[kmhernandez]

Hi am somewhat new to chickens and I have 20 hens. 2 of the hens have open sores on their backs and I am not sure what it is from.

 

[PirocaKeeper]

Do you have roosters with your hens?

 

[kmhernandez]

No just hens and no other animals can get to them.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! If you don't have a rooster, you probably have feather pluckers/ a bully. There is a nice article in the Learning Center on Bully behavior in chickens and what you can do to help prevent it https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/bullying-behavior-in-chickens In the winter bored hens are really prone to starting this, and doing what you can to keep them entertained helps, removing the bully birds for a few days to knock them down in the pecking order sometimes works also. Pinless Peepers will usually put a stop to it if nothing else works. You might try spraying the bare skin of the plucked birds with something like Blu-Kote, that won't stop but it sometimes helps slow down the plucking and might help prevent them picking on sore spots.

 

[drumstick diva]

You could also get hen saddles(aprons) for your girls that are feather plucked. That will cover their bald areas and allow them to heal. In the Buy,sell,trade forum - there is a heading "Everything else for sale - there are at least a couple folks who make the saddles, diapers etc. for chickens. You could pick a color that blends in with your hens' coloring or just a neutral color that doesn't stand out.

 

[kmhernandez]

Thanks everyone!! I was worried they were sick or had a disease.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[Chicken Girl1]

Hello

and Welcome to BYC!

 

[sunflour]

So glad you have joined us.

I agree, likely you have a feather picker. I have one hen who lost the same area and she actually also pecked herself in the same area. The Bluekote did stop it.

Good luck getting this to stop. There is a long thread on feather picking and IMO no one has figured a way to stop it all. But do consider drumstick diva's advice about hen saddles. You can make these out of fabric without sewing. If you are interested in how, let me know and I'll try to find the link.

Do watch for any bloody pecked skin, if you see that, you will need to more aggressive in actions to stop it.


Addendum:

here's one example of no we hen saddle: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/112898/saddle-patterns-pics-added